This story is a sequel to Entrenchment
An Age of Iron story.
At last, Ferrous Dominus is (mostly) secure.
Centaur III has been (largely) pacified.
The enemies of Chaos and Equestria have finally been crushed (probably).
But victory is merely a prelude to the next war. The Imperium of Man and the pitiful, far-flung holdings of the alien await the Iron Warriors and their new allies, ripe for conquest and plunder. With a new home world and a new ally under their thumb, the 38th Company at last turns its attention on a galaxy ablaze with constant war, seeking new victims to fill the bellies of their ships. The gentle but resourceful equines of Equestria travel with them, taking to the field not out of malice or avarice but gratitude in at last fulfilling their grave debt to the Legion.
But in the depths of the void, far beyond the fleet, beyond the veil of the Materium itself, Chaos is not idle. Plots advance, blood spills, and ancient evils seethe.
The light will be extinguished.
(Dark humor warning; grimdark themes)
(Cover art, and pretty much the rest of the art too, by EZTP)
Oh shit! We got Battle Sisters now?
I'll be reading this tomorrow.
More horsewords!
You've got a broken tag in there:
Anyway, it was an interesting first chapter. I hope we get to find out about Pinkie's little adventure. And that we never see Dusk again.
One word: awesome
The Queen returns! With honestly a lot less metal than I thought, I expected her to be a full on Dreadnought or Daemon Engine.
I wonder how many people died during Tellus’ hunt for the ponies
I’m honestly terrified that the ship ate Pinkie and was forced to regurgitate her.
It returns! Huzzah!
Ah yes, Dusk finally getting a beat down, Tellis being Tellis, and a new Pet for the Warmaster. Amusing as always, though Pinky... standing against the Harvest... is interesting, the whole trip will be interesting, and I'm looking forward to seeing Twilight and the harvest interact more.
Teaching a Monstrous Demon Ship about friendship and harmony. And however warped it will follow these lessons.
Great! you made my sleep deprived day better, didn't expected this so soon.
I can't fathom what happened with Pinkie but looked like she was literally puked by the Harvest... i need to know!
I suspected that the Harvest attitude to Twilight would had drastically changed...
How many Corruption Points had Twilight for a daemonic pact?
for chaos and iron
THIS! *point at chapter* THIS RIGHT HERE! I NEEDED THIS! THANK YOU SO MUCH!!
Thank you for the chapter, it was a great read.
I hope we get to see Twilight and the Harvest interact a bit more, Twilight should really remember that she should make friends and should try to befriend the harvest, I mean she could learn a lot from the ship for sure. Also, could it be that Spike is the least protected on this ship??
Why is Twilight taking him with her to dangerous places without asking for some form of protection for him? He seems to be the pour soul that is forced to brace needles danger just for Twilight to get a kick out of it and having her convenient instant messenger ready to go by her side.
Also I still want for Pinks to get a knight or even bigger walker
But having Chrysalis on this is great, but it is really surprising she wanted to rid with the Ponies instead of somewhere else. Maybe they will grow on to each other like some kind of fungus or maybe better fitting image like cancer
I don't know why but I like the three Nurgle mares, hope we get a few more scenes with them. And the CMC, learning about chaos and the Warp, now that their sisters aren't on planet I am sure they can deepen their studies in the temple, maybe Bloom can start a new garden of Nurgle. Will Scootalo get her first chainsword? Will Sweetie make her first elaborate plan to get revenge on Silver and Tiara? Oh so many things that are now possible with the sisters away
Yay
I look forward to Gears meeting Twilight. That is all.
BLOOD FOR THE BLOOD GOD, BABY! WOOOOO!
9973483
You're not the only one wanting to see Pinks stumble upon a Knight
... i can see Chrysalis going with the ponies just for shits and giggles, althought it seems that his plan failed thanks to Our Lord and Saviour Tellis, and also Twilights explanation about the Harvest... than can put the brakes to almost anyone, even more with Spike quips.
And CMC? Well i just want to see a flea ridden Apple Bloom with Chrysalis crown. I can easily see Scootaloo taking a combat knife (i doubt she can handle anything bigger) and Sweetie, really the wide rank of things she can plan for revenge, she could even cook for Tiara
It is great to see more of this epic series. I am looking forward to seeing where you take this.
I'm a simple man, I see Age of Iron I like and upvote
Awww, it's just so cute go how Teclis likes ponies, even if most of them are terrified of him.
I wonder if the Harvest's going to keep on not wanting to eat Twiggles and if she'll want to eat ponies ever again. Pinkie's bound to be one hell of a bad trip.
Oh, I just thought of something. Now that they have warp eaters the Harvest can finally use her hell cannon more frequently. Shoot, wait for the warp to take the ship over, send changelings to eat the contagion, profit!
Oh the human faces when they see a bunch of chaos apparel clad pastel colored magical telling tiny horses trying to convince them to defect to chaos worship's going to be absolutely hilarious
Wooo more age of iron to look forward to!
I wonder if The Harvest is treating Twilight with respect, because theres a quote relavent to Pinkie.
This mare can make Chaos knurd, and she has a Commander?
Then again, I hope someone reminds Chrysalis about Pinkies habit of aquiring new Heavy Metal. Just to keep her nightmares company at night. Pinkie can even bring Smores.
So chrissy is better for infiltrating eldars because the gem on her chest could just be thought of as a spirit stone, or just modify her form everytime she changes? Or warsmith fix that.
Woooohooooo this story is back ty auther.
Looking for word for it all.
Can't believe this series is still going. One of my favorites!
The Forces of Chaos, one of the few groups that see their enemies kill their forces and nearly cost them a fortress and go, “yeah, that’s a great resume! You’re hired!”
Did pinkie just have vore sex with ship?....
9973521
Or something bigger XD
You know, I think both spike and the Harvest have something in common, they are only remembered and noticed when someone wants something from them, flying in space for the harvest, sending a note to Celestia for Spike. XD
I think Bloom would be taking on worms like a real apple sooner then flees.
As for Sweetie, I think her cooking is more a danger for herself and her surroundings then for anyone else, with the burning of water and juice and all, maybe if she gets on Shion cooking level from Slime than this would be an option.
9973807
Actually i think the real cooking match for Sweetie would be Homer Simpson, Sweetie burnt the juice into a black sludge... Homer managed cereals to burst in flames just by pouring milk on them... Gods forbid those two team up at the kitchen
This is going to be epic!!! Really happy to see more Age of Iron stuff!
I wonder though... Is Gear Works onboard too? Or are we leaving him on the planet to protect Chaos against the horrors of the CMC?
I don't suppose Dusk died on the way back to his home planet?
You're one of my favourite authors. I love your work. Please don't die in the near future, I would be rather aggrieved if you did
yyyyyyyyyaaaaaaa face the rainbows of death
Well, that’s one way to get rid of Slannesh’s followers. Draining them of their ability to feel seems like it would be something they actually wouldn’t be able to enjoy
Yes! A new book of an awesome saga begins!
Why does Chrysalis feel compelled to hang around Equinaught Squadron? That is a truly intriguing development.
And TELLIS IS BACK, BABY!
Yay, Twilight is friends with the Harvest of Steel now. Whether she likes it or not.
Looking forward to the further corruption of Chaos by ponies.
Sororitas! At least I assume that's what that is. So looking forward to more of this. Love what happened to Dusk. I wonder if we could get a fallen commissar?
I love it.
9973214
Wow way to respect The Troops geez
Also fixed the tag this morning, sorry about that.
9973252
Simply giving her a robot body wouldn't be particularly useful; there are plenty of loose brains they can hook up to murder machines that aren't predisposed to hate them. Her natural talents are far more useful to them; they just needed a bit of tweaking...
9973435
It's way less interesting than you're thinking, I assure you.
9973483
Spike just kind of follows Twilight around in general... She keeps him away from actual battlefields when she can help it, but bringing him along on the ship isn't particularly dangerous (or so she continues to insist).
9973580
The changelings consume Warp energy but the effects of the rift are a bit more... serious than that. It would take a lot of changelings to completely absorb the ambient energies, and it wouldn't reverse the more dramatic effects of Warp contamination or do anything about the daemons infesting a ship (although I suppose the Iron Warriors could handle that part).
9973694
The thing with her core showing is just a quirk of her new implants that she's not used to. She'll adapt!
9973835
He is not on board, no. Gear Works is still very low-ranking clergy, perfect for helping with the city but not up to snuff in a battlefield.
9973853
Nope, still alive. But I can mostly restrict his appearances to Gear in the Machine from now on.
9973898
I would hate that too
9974042
Because they're familiar enemies that she can (theoretically) overpower and (so she thinks) can't kill her with simple code transmission. She puts up a good front, but she's a little freaked out by waking up a cyborg that can suddenly turn into giant death machines.
9974395
People were getting a little tired of Dusk's shenanigans. Clearly it was time to retire that running gag.
9974526
Still better than wasting perfectly usable voidships. Not to mention the Dark Magus Biologus of the 34th could likely find ways to tweak changeling strains to better absorb and clean up warp corruption for that purpose. It would likely be something for quite away in the future though.
BACK INTO THE BREACH ONCE MORE PONIES!! -is happy to see more from this series-
Oh sweet sweet mercy, I hadn't realized this was posted! I've been looking forward to this for months! WOOHOOO!!!!!!
I was honestly expecting Twilight to teleport Dusk Blade right into the maw of the Harvest of Steel's Calefactor. Dusk does fit into the "people who tick me off" category.
Dawww!!! I like Twilight and the Harvest of Steel's budding "friendship"!
Still hoping Twilight teaches the Harvest to play Chess at some point.
I'm starting to wonder if the Harvest is going to become scared of Pinkie Pie. When not even Chaos can explain Pinkie Pie, that's saying something.
I do have a new theory about Pinkie Pie, though. She's the unholy lovechild of a C'tan shard and a daemon of the warp. She inherited the reality-warping abilities of both her parents. This makes her one of the most powerful beings in the universe, but her own insanity keeps her from capitalizing on it. This theory is flawless.
At some point in this journey, I'm also expecting Solon to open a doorway and find Discord, Fluttershy, and the Harvest all having a tea party on the other side. I've got an image of this in my mind and I've had it for months.
I wonder what impact seeing the greater galaxy is going to have on Chrysalis. Will it make her more likely to follow Solon's orders, if only for realizing the fact that everything else is actually a much worse choice? I don't expect her to play friendly, but I'm hoping she'll realize how insanely lucky she is for this chance and that it wasn't some other faction that reached Centaur III before the 38th.
I wonder if the Centaur III natives will see an Exterminatus carried out at some point during this? That would certainly leave a lasting impression. They've all already been changed by Chaos. They will change more before the end of this.
Ahhh... So many thoughts, questions, etc. turning around in my head. And I'm sure more will crop up before the night is over.
Thank you very much for posting this! I love this series and I am very much looking forward to where things go from here!
*hasn't read the prequels*
...I am so lost.
9974720
yyyyeah. If you don't read the prequels you are not going to have any idea what's going on.
Start here: https://www.fimfiction.net/story/147183/iron-hearts-book-1-planetfall
Priceless
At last! Back to work! Pinkie, find me a dreadnought.
What a great first chapter!
First off, love the cover art for this. Looking forward to the confrontation with Battle Sisters. Also, Love the design of Rarity's sword in that. It may not be practical, but that skull themed cross-guard just looks cool.
I like how Chrysalis has apparently been regulated, right off the bat, to being just another horse-like creature made to serve the Company.
I like to think that she chose to stick with the Ponies in the drop ship out of a need to be around, in a manner of speaking, "Her own kind." I would assume that she has some innate social instinct and that shes more conformable around them, even if it's at a distance. Wonder if she's going to get a human to bond with.
Poor Dusk. While I agree that his shtick had run it's course, I kind of admire him just for his persistence. Good to know he's (probably) ok.
And once again, Pinkie just does things she shouldn't. A phrase which can easily mean so many different things all at once.
Edit: Also, Twilight. Just damn. Look how far she's come.
The truly amusing thing? Due to their unthinkable stroke of luck in their selection of "benefactors", Equestria has actually been experiencing an unusually congenial selection of humans. Well, aside from all the warp buggery and such. Once/if they stumble across an imperial hive city or some such they'll actually see worse living conditions and greater disregard for sapient life. Heck, due to limited resources and abhorrence of waste, the 38th may even treat their slaves marginally better.
Funny really, in time the ponies may turn out to be better evangelists than even the Word Bearers, simply because they actually give a damn.
9974889
I remember in "Entrenchment" about the reserves Twilight had regarding the imperials, and how Gaela told her that was because she had never been outside her world and in due time she would know better.... she's going to have a real crash course of knowing better...
Also, Dark Apostle Fluttershy, i can see it.
Also, nobody found funny that her letter to Celestia basically sums up to " I REGRET NOTHING"?
Equus is actually an ancient demon world once owned by Discord by right of his standing as a greater demon of chaos undivided, since lost to his own equine creations because he got bored and careless?
Oh gosh, Ponies acting as evangelicals for chaos because they don't want to harm any humans. I can see this becoming a problem for Solon so easily because why not? Doesn't everything the ponies do eventually makes him wonder if it was all worth it? (The answer is yes but he'll never say because he's a big softy that way).
Solon just stared at the gathered ponies as once again they had exceeded even his revised low expectations and managed to find a new sugar coated low to sink to.
"So why can't we build a temple to the Emperor of Mankind on the Harvest of steel?"
So much rage burned through him right now but even that was not enough to snuff out his morbid curiosity. "WHY?"
"The humans seem to really like what we're telling them about eating three meals a day, only worrying about being killed twice a week, and working only 16 hours a day. It seems to be a real improvement over how they're living now. The deal breaker though seems to be when they have to give up their religion. They don't really seem really sold on any of the other Chaos gods and really want to hang on to the one they have already have. So we were thinking, why not just let them keep their Emperor guy? That way we won't have to fight anymore humans. It's always too sad to see one of you guys blown all to bits like that."
Choking on the bile rising in his throat Solon coughed as he slammed his fist down upon his work bench. "The false emperor is NOT a Chaos God!"
"Doesn't he exist in the Warp?"
"Are you referring to the astronethicon?"(That warp becon the navigators use to guide their ships. Can't remember the spelling, sorry)
"Yeah, and isn't he like a billion years old?"
"He's only 40,000 at best."
"And isn't he worshipped by a bunch of different crazy cults?"
"That's doesn't mean that you're automatically a god."
"And doesn't worship in the Warp result in new chaos gods?"
"Theres more to it than that, I think. Where are you getting this information?"
"So even if he's not on the same level as the Big Four we're only asking to build a small temple for him. You know, so that Imperials have a place to go, and then we can all be friends!"
"No!" Solon yelled, the smoke from his stacks curling around him. "We fought to kill him, he is the entire reason for the pain and blood shed within the entire Galaxy. We will never allow ourselves to fall to the same delusions as the rest of the Imperium and worship him as a god!"
Rolling their eyes the pony pointed to the auto-turrent surrounded doorway to the temple of Slaanesh. "If we have one temple to a Chaos God we don't like, what's the harm in having a second one to another chaos god we don't like?"
"THE EMPEROR IS NOT A CHAOS GOD!"
"His believers think he is, isn't that what matters?"
"No they don't, even the other Chaos gods see him as the anathema."
"So if he's acknowledged by the other Chaos gods, doesn't that make him a Chaos God, as in the chaos God of humanity?"
"Do you even know what anathema even means?"
"Nope but it seems like the other gods at least respect his power so that means he's a go on that temple construction right?"
Sighing Solon looked around. "Didn't we take Father Virgil with us? This seems like a Him question."
Can totally seeing ponies respecting the faith of the average Imperial so they can try to make friends with them.
"I must say darling, I know that Sister of Battle person was trying to kill me, but I just could bring myself to deliver the final blow. That armored nun look was simply too daring to destroy. How went the talk with Solon about letting the prisoners keep their religion?"
Also, hope Twilight doesn't some how end up the Horus to Celestia's empress. I believe the Ponies can avoid what humanity could not.
Glad to see a new book out and I hope you a great holiday season!
I wonder why Solon decided to bring a pony contingent with him for his raid, does he want to show them what is actual war are is the something more to it. Could it be that eh think that ponies might have a more calming effect on ponies for the Harvest, traveling though the warp and deamons alike, except for Twilight? Maybe he is hoping that the local PDF might actually surrender in hopes of cuddling with the ponies or that the maddening effects of Chaos on humans might be lessen to a more manipulable level?
I also wonder if with the changelings they will have more of a sense of gratitude for Tellis for actually claiming them as his own property and would be more grateful of actually being in the service of the 38th and never go hungry anymore instead of when Chrysalis ruled over them; could they have a change of loyalty now despite being slaves to it now? for some reason I am thinking of Inferno from Beast wars, and calling Tellis his queen un-ironically, could they survive saying that to his face I wonder? I wonder what they will thing of their new diet of feeding directly from the warp and what effect that will have on them over time? I wonder how their interactions with the ponies will be like, I think it would be hypocritical of them to accept the 38th as friends, in spite of their obvious evil inclinations, and love offer a hoof to a defeated enemy to get up that have lost everything, even if they did previously consider them as food.
Will there be an appearance of the other Strider models in this story I would really hope to see how they fare in action against the Imperium?
I wonder if Dust would ever grow a something like a conscience, of start questioning himself, I could get that he is a psychopath, in the clinical sense, incapable of actually emotional empathy for others, but could have at least develop it in a intellectual level and act accordingly?
9974918
Wasn't equestria a former human colony that got hit with a batch of Nurgle's Plagues missed with Isha's Blessings, the mix which killed of all humans but mutated the surviving fauna and flora into the precursors of today's equestria, making the ponies (and all other equus natives) the children of their disturbing love? Like, ponies could actually call Nurgle father (and Isha mother) while to all others can only claim to be his grandchildren.
At least I remember reading that some years ago. Dunno if it was a blog post or a fanfic from another author referring to Age of Iron.
Huh, that'd also make ponies half siblings to the Eldar, Isha being one of their goddesses and all that.
9975992
I believe you're thinking of something else, that doesn't sound like anything that's come up here.
9975992
9976025
That would be a non-canon story that I wrote in "Stray shots and What ifs?"